Artist CV

Artist CV

Research Interests

Emma Campbell is a photographer and activist born in Belfast, based in London for over a decade, and since returned to Northern Ireland. She is currently researching the impact of women’s documentary photography practice and its links to feminist activism since the birth of photography and the suffragettes.

Emma’s own photography explores the issues raised by the lack of abortion access for women in the island of Ireland. The stigma and secrecy combined with the attitudes fostered by colonialism and deep religious conservatism are dealt with in a variety of ways, inspired by practices employed by the women photographers in her historical research. This includes photography of direct actions, using the gallery space as an activist space, sharing her practice online to raise awareness, using collage, documentary and found images to produce work that fosters a sense of the structural inequalities that face women faced with decisions about their pregnancies.

Emma has exhibited this work in solo shows in Belfast, Dublin, Berlin and Stockholm. Emma began a residency in Array Studios in the summer of 2015 and became a full studio member in the Autumn of 2015, since then she has been part of their group shows and the open studios days.

PracticeMarch 2014 – month long residency at OKK Gallery Berlin with solo show

June 2014 - Amsterdam Women on Waves discussion and interview

July 2014, 3 weeks residency - Belfast Exposed – making work using the archive material from Women on Waves in Amsterdam. (see documentation)

July 2014 - Belfast Exposed – in progress work with Women on Waves archives and historical research

August 2014 – ARC invitation to talk at Miss Y protest at the gates of the Dail Eireann

September 2014 – solo show Platform “When they put their hands out like scales” showing the progression of the abortion journey through the progression in my work from 2011 – 201

June 2014 - Loughborough – paper to staff on feminism and photography after accessing their archives on IRIS

July 2014 - Belfast Exposed – Residency in the Exchange gallery - The display changed as the work progressed and the artworks were done ‘live’ on a projector in the gallery space

July 2014 - Belfast Exposed – Artist Talk – An open talk to the public, attended by various including Gallery Director and Curators. The Talk was entitled, “Do women document?Where photography, feminist activism and research collide.” With intro by Ciara Hickey and a discussion afterwards.

August 2014 - Canada 3 day conference – ‘Abortion – the unfinished Revolution’ conference at Prince Edward Island University. Panel on Northern Ireland and Abortion, collaboration with other Academics in Social Policy UU, Education UU, Mark Benson on History at QUB

October 2014 - Platform, Belfast Solo Show – Activist meeting with Alliance for Choice in the Gallery

October 2014 - Platform, Belfast Solo Show – Open lecture with Dr. Fiona Bloomer of UU Social Policy department and myself

October 2014 - Platform, Belfast Solo Show – Discussion group with myself on art and activism, Kellie O’Dowd from Trademark on abortion and education and Dr. Fiona Bloomer on the political discourse around abortion

November 2014 – Betty Sinclair Winter School, Lusty Beg, Participant in lecture on role of Reclaim the Agenda

December 2014 - Panrummet, Stockholm 40 years of Abortion Rights Flatpack Feminism with Siobhan Clancy and workshop with RSFU members

December 2014 - Panrummet, Stockholm 40 years of Abortion Rights, Irish Artist’s Talk with Siobhan Clancy and Emilie Wiederude of RSFU and myself on barriers to access in Ireland

December 2014 - Panrummet, Stockholm 40 years of Abortion Rights Film Festival, screening of films – including film of Ann Rossiter – disrupted by smoke bomb

March 2015 – Ulster Hall – International Women’s Day - Chaired talk with Hester Reeve and Olivia Plender, Sylvia Pankhurst, the Suffragette as a Militant Artist

March 2015 - Amnesty – London School of Economics – gathering of academics and activists on subject of working together to make change

April 2015 - NCAD – Mind the Gap – Dublin - delivered paper entitled “What is feminist activist art practice and how does it form part of a multi-disciplinary approach to research?”

April 2015 - Golden Thread Gallery Belfast – Hosted an evening of films about Abortion Stigma, with a film from myself, Embryo from Rafilm (a feminist Collective in Sweden) and a collection of excerpts from Western media on the portrayal of abortion, with a discussion afterwards.